City of Lancaster v. Pa. PUC, 2024 Pa. LEXIS 610 (S. Ct. April 25, 2024) (Brobson, J.).
In this direct appeal, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) challenges a decision of the Commonwealth Court concluding that Section 59.18 of the PUC’s regulations, 52 Pa. Code § 59.18, violates Article II, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and is, therefore, unenforceable. Pertinently, the Commonwealth Court held that Section 59.18 unlawfully delegates unfettered authority to natural gas distribution companies (NGDCs) to determine the location of gas meters in historic districts of the Commonwealth. Upon careful review, we conclude that the General Assembly never enacted a statute vesting the PUC with any legislative authority under Article II, Section 1—i.e., imposing any duty on the PUC—to locate gas meters in historic districts that would give rise to any constitutional concerns regarding delegation. Accordingly, we reverse.
Seemingly at the heart of this case is the non-delegation doctrine, which doctrine derives from Article II, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. As touched upon above, the non-delegation doctrine “requires that the basic policy choices involved in ‘legislative power’ actually be made by the [l]egislature as constitutionally mandated.” Chartiers, 211 A.2d at 492. “While the legislature cannot delegate the power to make a law, it may, where necessary, confer authority and discretion in connection with the execution of the law….” Belovsky v. Redevelopment Auth., 357 Pa. 329, 54 A.2d 277, 284 (Pa. 1947). The non-delegation doctrine, at its core, serves as a check on the General Assembly’s delegative power. “More specifically, the rule demands that, when the [l]egislature delegates policymaking discretion to administrative agencies, it must make the ‘basic policy choices’ which will serve as standards to guide and restrain the exercise of discretion.” Tosto, 331 A.2d at 202-03 (quoting Chartiers, 211 A.2d at 492).
Upon careful review, we conclude that the General Assembly never enacted a statute vesting the PUC with any legislative authority under Article II, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution relative to the location of gas meters in historic districts that would give rise to any constitutional concerns regarding delegation. Accordingly, we reverse the Commonwealth Court’s order granting the Municipalities’ Application and remand the matter to the Commonwealth Court for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.
Chief Justice Todd and Justices Donohue, Dougherty, Wecht and Mundy join the opinion.
